 "Passenger vehicle, cars")
Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales in India increased by a modest 4.42 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 350,257 units in May, with the elections and extreme heat during the summer season being major factors.
“It has been very well discussed that this year, the growth would not be very high. It would be in single digits because the high base effect has come into play,” Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), told reporters at a press conference.
“We all know that due to the elections, and due to the sweltering heat, this has affected the sales in the month of May. But we are hopeful that we would start seeing the green shoots coming once the election results are announced. Once we get a stable government, I think things will turn around," he added.
MSIL's domestic PV wholesales increased by 0.2 per cent Y-o-Y to 144,002 units in May.
Banerjee stated that the company's dealers have a stock for about 35-36 days, which is "okay" as it is not very high or low. He expects this network stock to reduce after the general elections but MSIL is fine even with the current level of stocks with dealers.
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Domestic PV wholesales of Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) increased by only 1.13 per cent Y-o-Y to 49,151 units in May. Its Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tarun Garg stated that HMIL's retail sales in May are also similar to the ones recorded in May last year.
“I would say that yes, because of the extreme heat conditions, there has been an effect on the showroom visits. Plus, this was the first full month of elections,” he mentioned.
However, he expressed optimism, stating that the sales have held steady even amid such high levels of heat and the general elections.
“The demand has shown resilience. We have to see how, after June 4 (when election results would be declared), things pan out...The monsoon is now coming to Kerala. Going ahead, we are predicting an above normal monsoon, which is very good for rural areas and the whole of India,” he noted.
The demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) continues to remain strong in India. The share of SUVs in total PV sales by the auto industry has increased from 29 per cent in 2020 to about 52 per cent in 2024, Garg said.
On the other hand, the share of hatchbacks in total PV sales has reduced from 47 per cent in 2020 to about 25 per cent in 2024.
